What is root canal treatment? Is root canal treatment safe?

Many people are familiar with dental problems such as tooth scaling, tooth extraction, and fillings, but they may not necessarily understand root canal treatment. 

So what is root canal treatment? Let’s do some popular science below.

1. What is root canal treatment?

Root canal therapy, also known as pulp therapy, is an effective method for treating pulp disease and periapical disease. By removing the inflammatory pulp and 

necrotic material in the root canal and performing appropriate disinfection, the root canal is filled to remove the adverse stimulation of the root canal contents 

to the periapical tissue, prevent the occurrence of periapical lesions or promote the healing of periapical lesions. This procedure preserves the tooth and is 

therefore complementary to tooth extraction. Root canal treatment surgery is cumbersome and usually takes 2-4 visits to complete, and the patient has to endure a lot of pain.

2. Indications of tooth root canal treatment.

（1）. Pulpitis: The dental pulp becomes inflamed due to bacterial infection. The dental pulp is in the sealed pulp chamber and is generally not affected by bacterial infection. 

When a tooth has a hole due to caries and the hole is too deep, external bacteria will invade the tooth. In the pulp cavity, the pulp is infected.

（2）. Apical periodontitis: After the dental pulp is infected by bacteria, the bacteria will invade the alveolar bone through the apical hole, causing inflammation of the tissue 

around the tooth root apex. As long as the infected pulp is removed, the apical inflammation will subside.

（3）. Dental pulp exposure: When a tooth is broken and the tooth nerve is exposed, root canal treatment is generally required.

3. Is root canal treatment safe?

Root canal treatment is complex, uses many instruments, and requires multiple treatment steps to complete the entire process. At present, the technology is relatively mature, 

and clinical reports show that the success rate of root canal treatment is about 80%-90%. It is currently a better treatment method for preserving the affected teeth. However, 

the operation may fail. If the disinfection is not complete, the pulp cavity may become infected again, resulting in the need for tooth extraction. Therefore, you must go to a regular hospital for treatment.

Finally, you must pay attention to root canal treatment. It is forbidden to chew on the affected tooth during the treatment period.